Did You Know? How Spokane and some of its parks got their names; plus tours to learn more about the area’s Native history

June 15, 2025 Updated Wed., June 18, 2025 at 3:37 p.m.

A portrait Chief Garry, of the Spokane Tribe. (Courtesy of Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society)

From staff reports

You can take a historical tour of your own

If you enjoy seeing historic homes of the rich and famous, take a walk through Browne’s Addition, the city’s earliest upscale residential district.

Barely a mile west of downtown, the self-contained neighborhood includes a stock of century-old mansions built for pioneer business leaders and their families. Scattered apartment buildings, some equally historic, dot the area.

The 2300 block of West First Avenue, including the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, has nine residential classics, three of them designed by famed local architect Kirtland Cutter.

Be sure to see Cutter’s extravagant Patsy Clark mansion, facing Coeur d’Alene Park, at Second Avenue and Hemlock Street. (The museum sells a detailed map).

Hint: To see more fine old homes and mansions, follow the right-hand fork uphill on South Stevens Street and turn right onto Sumner Avenue. The left fork turns east past Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and onto Rockwood Boulevard, the centerpiece of a National Register Historic District.

Patsy Clark Mansion, at 2208 W. Second Ave.in Spokane, was built in 1898 and designed by renowned architect Kirtland Cutter.

Above: This stately brick home at 416 E. Rockwood Blvd. was built by Edward and Helen Cannon in 1911. The pioneering lawyer helped found Gonzaga Law School.

This summer and fall, local historian David Beine will lead several Saturday visits to several regional historical sites focused on the life and influence of Chief Spokane Garry.

Garry acted as a liaison between white settlers who were arriving in the Spokane area, and Native tribes that had long lived in Eastern Washington’s forests and along the rivers where they excelled as fishermen. He lived from 1811 to 1892 and his role is widely acknowledged in the area by his named used for parks, streets, neighborhoods and more. He was the son of Chief Illum-Spokanee, the namesake of the city and county.

Beine’s first tour of the year included a hike through Indian Canyon – Garry’s final camp and resting place – and will soon include a guided bus tour to visit various sites around Spokane related to Garry, such as a bike ride or hike to visit the historic Horse Slaughter camp near Stateline and a bus tour across the Palouse to visit the historic hanging site along Latah Creek.

“The purpose of these expeditions is for participants to gain a greater awareness of and appreciation for Spokane Garry’s influence in the early history of Spokane,” Blaine wrote.

More information and reservations for the tours can be made through Spokane Parks and Rec online at secure.rec1.com/WA/spokane-wa/catalog. Search “Garry” in the catalog or click on the Wellness & Enrichment heading.